System and method for controlling presentation of multimedia content

Abstract

A system and a method for controlling the presentation of multimedia content. Multimedia content is provided to a plurality of multimedia devices, control signaling is sent to each of the plurality of multimedia devices, and responsive to the control signaling, each of the multimedia devices presents the provided multimedia content. The multimedia content provided to each multimedia device can alternatively be the same or coordinated (i.e. different) content. The control signaling can include indications as to which of the multimedia content to present, when to start presenting it, and when to stop presenting it. Responsive to the control signaling, each of multimedia devices can present one or more items of multimedia content. The coordinated presentation of multimedia content by the plurality of multimedia devices results in a collective form of multimedia presentation that goes beyond the presentation of the individual multimedia content items on each of the individual multimedia devices.

1 . A method for controlling the presentation of multimedia content on a plurality of multimedia devices comprising the steps of:
 establishing a list of the plurality of multimedia devices;   providing each of the multimedia devices with one or more items of multimedia content;   responsive to receiving a trigger message, creating and sending, to one or more of the multimedia devices on the list, a multimedia control message (MMCM);   responsive to fields contained in the MMCM, each multimedia device initiating an action including one of: starting presentation, stopping presentation, and presenting a next item of multimedia content; and   repeating, for subsequently received trigger messages, the steps of creating and sending a MMCM, and of initiating an action;   wherein the presentation of multimedia items on the plurality of multimedia devices creates a form of multimedia presentation unto itself.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one or more multimedia content items, each having an associated content index, are organized into one or more content locations; 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the trigger message can indicate one of: switch to a next content location, switch to a next content index, start a presentation, start a presentation sequence, and stop a presentation. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each multimedia device is added to the list responsive to one of: the multimedia device registering for participation in a presentation via a communication protocol, a user of the multimedia device requesting inclusion of the multimedia device, and an operator entering one or more multimedia devices. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each multimedia device can be removed from the list responsive to a user of the multimedia device requesting exclusion of the multimedia device. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein in the step of initiating an action, the action is initiated at a time that is responsive to a command time-stamp contained in the MMCM. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising the step of:
 synchronizing the time for initiating an action on the multimedia device with a time reference from which the command time-stamp was derived.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein registration of a multimedia device for participation in a presentation includes providing physical location information for the multimedia device, and the step of creating and sending an MMCM is further responsive to the physical location information provided by the multimedia device. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more items of multimedia content are provided to each multimedia device by one of: downloading the items in advance of the presentation, and streaming of the items in real-time during the presentation. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
 forwarding the received MMCM from the multimedia device to other multimedia devices responsive to a list of other multimedia devices on the multimedia device.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger message is sent from any of: a user input interface, a multimedia device, and a lighting control platform. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the trigger message sent from lighting control platform results in the presentation of multimedia content on the plurality of multimedia devices being coordinated with the operation of other display devices by the lighting control platform. 
   
   
       13 . A system for controlling the presentation of multimedia content on a plurality of multimedia devices comprising:
 a computing platform for:
 establishing a list of the plurality of multimedia devices; 
 responsive to receiving a trigger message, creating a multimedia control message (MMCM); and 
 creating further MMCM for each subsequently received trigger message; 
   a signaling module for sending the MMCM to one or more of the multimedia devices on the list; and   a plurality of coordination modules, each associated with one of the multimedia devices, for:
 making available to the multimedia device one or more items of multimedia content; and 
 responsive to fields contained in the MMCM, causing the multimedia device to initiate an action including one of: starting presentation, stopping presentation, and presenting a next item of multimedia content; and 
 causing the multimedia device to initiate a further action for each subsequently received MMCM; 
   wherein the presentation of multimedia items on the plurality of multimedia devices creates a form of multimedia presentation unto itself.   
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein one or more multimedia content items, each having an associated content index, are organized into one or more content locations; 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the trigger message can indicate one of: switch to a next content location, switch to a next content index, start a presentation, start a presentation sequence, and stop a presentation. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein each multimedia device is added to the list responsive to one of: the multimedia device registering for participation in a presentation via a communication protocol supported by the computing platform, a user of the multimedia device sending a request forinclusion of the multimedia device to the computing platform, and an operator entering one or more multimedia devices on the computing platform. 
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein each multimedia device can be removed from the list responsive to a user of the multimedia device sending a request for exclusion of the multimedia device to the computing platform. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein in the action is initiated, by the coordination module, at a time that is responsive to a command time-stamp contained in the MMCM. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 18 , the coordination module further for:
 synchronizing the time for initiating an action on the multimedia device with a time reference from which the command time-stamp was derived.   
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein registration of a multimedia device for participation in a presentation includes providing physical location information for the multimedia device, and the creating of the MMCM is further responsive to the physical location information provided by the multimedia device. 
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more items of multimedia content are made available to each multimedia device by one of: downloading the items in advance of the presentation, and streaming of the items in real-time during the presentation. 
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 13 , the coordination module further for:
 forwarding the received MMCM from the multimedia device to other multimedia devices responsive to a list of other multimedia devices on the multimedia device.   
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising a trigger module for sending the trigger message responsive to input from any of: a user input interface, a multimedia device, and a lighting control platform. 
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the trigger message input from lighting control platform results in the presentation of multimedia content on the plurality of multimedia devices being coordinated with the operation of other display devices by the lighting control platform. 
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising the user input interface for receiving input from a user and forwarding the input to the trigger module. 
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the user input interface is associated with one of: the computing platform, another computing platform, and a multimedia device